


Outfoxed

by adrienettelove



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), DJWifi, Established Relationship, F/M, Gabriel Agreste is already in jail, Kwami Swap, Memory Loss, Post-Reveal Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Their enemy is Lila, Transfer of guardianship, temporary kwami swap
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-18 15:20:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29611404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adrienettelove/pseuds/adrienettelove
Summary: Ladybug is cornered after having her identity compromised, so she decides to transfer the guardianship to someone she knows and trusts, accepting what this decision will mean for her.Marinette wakes up soon after, not remembering anything about her becoming Ladybug and everything that happened after that.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 18
Kudos: 49





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first fic for this fandom, I'm nervous! English isn't my native language so I'm sorry for any mistakes, but I don't expect to become a grammar expert, this is just a fun way to explore my ideas.  
> This fic won't be too long, I hope you enjoy.  
> 

Marinette gasped as she opened her eyes, regaining conscience. Where was she again? 

She sat up, looking around. There was a green force field surrounding her, and she was not alone. Three people she didn’t know, dressed up as if they were ready for a costume party, were staring right at her, subtly trying to hide the concern in their eyes.

“W-what going on?” She asked, noticing her voice sounded different than she remembered. “Who are you? Where are we?”

The three of them exchanged silent glances before a woman in a yellow and black suit reminiscing a bee approached her and kneeled down. Marinette stared at her with wide eyes as the stranger placed her hand on her shoulder.

“I’m Abeille,” she said, offering a small smile. “I’m a superhero. You’re...” she trailed off, glancing at the blond man dressed up in red and black. Marinette couldn’t help but look at him too, he seemed to be very tense and… were those tears in his eyes? She narrowed her eyes in his direction, but as soon as they made eye contact he looked away, remaining quiet. “You’re safe now, but you’re under the influence of magic amnesia.” Abeille’s voice startled her and she returned her attention to her as she explained the situation. “Do you remember anything about yourself?”

“I do, but-” Marinette fiddled with her fingers as she tried to recall how exactly she ended up in this mess. She then looked down at her hands, observing a rose gold ring she didn’t even remember owning, just how much had she forgotten about herself? “My name’s Marinette Dupain-Cheng, I’m… I’m not sure how old I am.” She stated, quite sure she wasn’t 13 anymore, she didn’t sound like it. She noticed that the other two heroes were looking at her too, but keeping their distance. The hero dressed up in green seemed to be the one holding the force field around them all.

“Alright, then. Turtle man here will bring you home,” Abeille said as she stood up, glancing in the direction of the turtle superhero, who nodded at her before releasing the force field. “Spots and I have to deal with something now, so see you around, Marinette.” She winked at her before she ran off. The guy she referred to as ‘Spots’ stayed still, staring at Marinette for a few more seconds before he took off as well without saying anything. 

Marinette was still watching in the direction the two heroes had left when a green hand waved in front of her face, catching her attention. 

“Here,” he offered with a smile. “I’ll bring you home, okay?” His voice was gentle and Marinette felt at ease.

“Thank you, Turtle Man,” she said as she took his hand. He let out a laugh as he helped her up.

“The name’s Carapace, Abeille was just teasing.” He grinned affectionately. Marinette nodded at him, wondering if ‘Spots’ was also a funny nickname, but she didn’t question any further. “Your parents own the best bakery in the city, right?”

“They do,” Marinette smiled as she relaxed at the mention of her parents.

“May I- uh, pick you up? You know, to take you home faster.” He asked rather awkwardly, and she couldn’t help but wonder why. He was a superhero, he was probably used to rescuing civilians, was his nature just awkward or was there something else she didn’t know of? 

She just nodded once again, letting out a squeak after he suddenly picked her up. He muttered a ‘sorry’ before he jumped away, making his way to the bakery. She held onto him tightly, closing her eyes as Carapace brought her back home.

Once they arrived at the bakery, Carapace gently put her down on the floor and she let out a sigh. That sure had been an interesting ride she wasn’t looking forward to repeating anytime soon. To her surprise, both of her parents were at the front door, like they were expecting her.

“Marinette!” Her dad hurried towards her and hugged her tightly, making her giggle in response. Her mom joined the hug soon after, and Carapace smiled at the scene.

“Mr. Dupain-Cheng, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng,” he said and he nodded at them after they looked at him. “I’ll leave Marinette to you now.”

“Thank you for bringing our daughter back home, Carapace.” Sabine said with a small smile.

“Yeah, we’re thankful!” Tom patted Marinette’s back as he spoke. “She’ll be safe here with us.”

“I know, see you!” Carapace waved before taking off as well. Marinette watched him leave for a moment before returning her attention to her parents.

“Oh Marinette,” Sabine said as she gently cradled her cheek. “I’m glad you’re safe…” She said, smiling with a hint of sadness in her voice.

“Want to tell us what happened?” Tom prompted, as he led them both inside the bakery, shutting the door behind them.

“I…” Marinette stood in front of her parents, studying them with her eyes. They were indeed older than she remembered them, how many years had this magic amnesia erased from her mind? “They said I’m under some magic spell that gave me amnesia, or something like that.” She explained, although her explanation didn’t convince her at all. “How old am I?” 

~.*~.*~

Marinette learned that she was 21, she was studying to become a fashion designer and she didn’t live with her parents anymore. Her parents didn’t dive into many details, trying not to overwhelm her with the amount of information, and she was okay with it for now. They also thought it would be safer if she stayed with them for the night, since she didn’t remember anything about her current life, and she agreed. 

She decided to help them at the bakery, since there wasn’t much she could do anyway and she didn’t want to be alone upstairs. They suggested closing the bakery for the day, but she refused, she was going to help them! It was something she was comfortable with, besides she had done that since she was a little kid, it wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle. 

Nodding her head to Jagged Stone’s old music as she hummed along quietly, Marinette went to pick some croissants for a customer. Distracted and clumsy as she was, something that apparently hadn’t changed over the years, she tripped and yelped as she started to fall, shutting her eyes tightly, but she never hit the floor.

Strong arms held her in place and Marinette took a breath in relief, ready to thank the stranger that caught her. She opened her eyes slowly and looked up, freezing up as kind, green eyes stared back at her.

Her heart skipped a beat.

“T-thank you,” she stuttered as the blond man helped her stand straight, giving her a gentle smile but oh so warm she thought her legs were going to betray her and become jelly. He felt extremely familiar for some reason she couldn’t place, maybe she knew him before this whole amnesia situation? That could be it, that had to be it. “H-have we bet mefore? I mean-! met b-before?” Why was she stuttering anyway?! 

“We have,” he confirmed, and his voice was as warm as his smile. “Let me reintroduce myself,” he added, apparently already informed of her current situation. Had her parents called him without her noticing? Why hadn’t they told her about it then? They should have warned her about it! 

His voice pulled her out of her thoughts, making her stare at him dumbly.

“I’m Adrien, it’s a pleasure to meet you again, Marinette.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The context will be explained in the next chapters. For now it's just Marinette's POV.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien, Alya and Nino start to deal with their current situation the best they can.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, it's me again! Here's the first chapter of the story with more context.  
> I just wanted to say that I don't really have a posting schedule, but I certainly won't update as fast as I've done it this time!  
> Thank you ♥

Leaving Marinette behind was one of the hardest things Adrien had to do. He quickly ran off to catch up with Alya, knowing that Marinette was in good hands, but it still broke his heart to leave her side in her current state of confusion. He wanted to be there for her, to comfort her and tell her she was going to be alright and regain her memories soon, even though there was no guarantee of that. 

He was mad, too. Lila had gone too far once again and he couldn’t help but blame himself for not being able to protect Marinette, for failing her. He was supposed to keep her safe, yet he wasn’t even able to hold her gaze when she looked up at him like he was a stranger. He wasn't strong enough without her.

“Hey, Spots! Snap out of it,” Alya called him out once he was running next to her. He was all serious and silent, completely unlike him.

“You’re awfully calm for someone who's the new guardian of the Miraculous,” he muttered bitterly, and Alya just frowned at him as the two of them stopped on some rooftop.

“I trust Marinette, and so do you,” she stated as a matter of fact. “Besides this is just temporary, isn’t it?” 

“Is it though?” He retorted, feeling the tears pricking at his eyes once again. “First she managed to steal your miraculous, then she actually got the city to doubt us as a team, now she made Marinette renounce the guardianship of the miracle box,” he rubbed his eyes rather roughly, then looked into the horizon as if trying to find the one responsible of this mess. “I need to find her and end this,” he added, clenching his fists.

Alya stared at him as spoke, pressing her lips together without saying a word while letting him vent his feelings. She knew he was upset, and so was she honestly, but Marinette had entrusted her with the responsibility of looking after the miracle box while she was unable to, and she was going to keep it together for her best friend, or try her best to. She knew she wasn’t alone though, Adrien and Nino were there for her, and she was going to support them, too.

“ _We_ need to find her, you mean,” she let out a deep sigh. “I know it doesn’t seem to get any better, and trust me, I’ve lost Trixx first and now it feels like I’ve lost my best friend too, but this isn’t even close to being over.” Putting her hands on her hips, she started scanning their surroundings too. “We’ll get them back.” She looked at him once again, waiting for him to agree with her, for a signal, anything to make sure he wasn’t completely lost to despair.

And Adrien wanted to agree with her, he wanted to agree so badly, but he was afraid to voice it out and then end up disappointing everyone around him again, or worse, hurting Marinette with his pathetic attempts of winning over a battle he wasn’t sure he could win. Deep inside he still had faith they could find a way to revert the situation, but right now his fears were overshadowing his more optimistic side. After all, there had to be a way to do it, be it in the grimoire or wherever, and he was going to find it.

“We will, you’re right,” he said after some moments of silence. “I’m sorry,” he shook his head, trying to push the negativity away. “Just- you know what to do now, make sure it stays safe.” 

“Of course,” she kept her eyes fixed on him, narrowing them slightly. “You’re going to try and find Volpina now, aren’t you?”

Adrien tensed up at the mention of their enemy, but then just looked in Alya’s direction and simply shrugged his shoulders.

“We got some unfinished business, you see.”

Alya nodded at him, remaining silent herself once again this time. There was no stopping Adrien, that was for sure. He could be reckless, especially when it came to Marinette’s wellbeing, but she trusted his judgement. He had been one of the protectors of Paris for years after all.

“You’re not the only one with unfinished business with her, you know?” She simply stated, and Adrien nodded, smirking lightly in her direction.

“Oh, I know,” he replied, and Alya smirked back.

“Anyway, stay safe Buggaboy,” she teased.

“Only my Lady can call me that, Bumblebee!” He said as he jumped away, leaving her behind on that rooftop. 

Alya watched him leave then let out a sigh. Alright, that hadn’t gone that bad after all. She had to focus on her own task now. Marinette had explained where the box was hidden before transferring the guardianship to her, all she had to do now was find a new hiding spot and make sure Lila wasn’t onto her. 

Good thing that even though Volpina wasn’t in good terms with Abeille, Lila was still under the impression that Alya believed all the lies she spluttered. 

~.*~.*~

“Don't be bemused, it's just the news!” Nadja Chamack started with her catchphrase as she looked at the camera in front of her. “Once again Volpina saved us from a catastrophe, preventing many injuries and possible deaths. What would Paris do without her? We wonder every day since she showed up! Let’s take a closer look,” she said as the camera focused on the scene behind her.

“Volpina! Volpina! Volpina!” A small crowd gathered near the Eiffel Tower right below the fox hero could be heard showing their support. 

“Thank you! Citizens of Paris, thank you so much for all your love!” Lila put her hand over her heart as she spoke, faking that sweet innocence she had mastered years ago. She was smiling widely as she waved back to her supporters, enjoying all the attention on her. 

Adrien didn’t even attempt to hide his frown as he approached the scene. How Lila managed to get everyone eating out of the palm of her hand, that they still couldn’t explain, but she was smart and cunning, and she used every single weakness they had against them.

“And where were Ladybug and her team this time?” Adrien heard Nadja comment, so he huffed. Really? They had fought and put Hawkmoth, his own father, in jail, and many people still decided to believe a random superheroine that showed up after that?

He wanted to wait for the cameras to go away to have a chat with Lila, but she was faster. She spotted him and smirked, calling out for him in front of everyone.

“Ladybug! Over here!” She waved in his direction with a big smile on her face. “Oh! Should I say Mr. Bug? Is Ladybug alright?” Her voice was so fake that Adrien resisted the urge to roll his eyes. 

Sulking, he just hurried over to join her at the Eiffel Tower. 

“Lila,” he muttered so only she could hear him.

“Mr. Bug,” she replied with a grin and leaned closer to him, placing her hand on his shoulder. “Or should I call you Adrien now?” She traced his arm with her index finger as she smirked, so he just swatted her hand away.

Marinette had been right, she usually was after all. Earlier that day, when Lila had unmasked Ladybug, Marinette was convinced that since Lila knew she was Ladybug, she had most likely made the connection that Adrien was Chat Noir as well, and she wasn’t mistaken. Fortunately, bless his lady’s mind, she decided to transfer the guardianship to Alya instead of him, since Alya had become a permanent holder of the Bee miraculous after the Fox one was stolen by Lila herself, and she was more than trustworthy.

“What even is your goal anyway?” He kept his voice low to avoid being heard by the cameras.

“Let’s talk in private, shall we?” She turned to the crowd and raised her voice as she smiled. “I have to go now, but don’t worry, I’ll always protect you! Especially now that Ladybug is out of commission,” she added and smirked in Mr. Bug’s direction as he glared at her. “Oops, was I not supposed to say that?” She whispered to him and jumped away, gesturing for him to follow her.

“Mr. Bug! Is that true?” “Is Ladybug retiring?” “Did she take a break because she’s no longer needed?” “Where is Ladybug?”

Adrien heard the questions but decided to ignore them and just followed Lila. That deceiving fox, of course she was going to spring that on him before leaving so he had to choose between getting answers from her or trying to calm the crowd down. He was going to need some help from the team to fix this mess.

“Well, what is your goal then?” He landed next to her, still glaring. 

“To protect the city, obviously,” she laughed as she moved even closer to him. 

“Cut the crap, Lila,” he warned, taking a step back. “You said that you were going to leave Marinette alone, we had a deal, didn’t we?” 

“We did,” she shrugged her shoulders, “And I did leave her alone, didn’t I?” She gave him yet another smirk. “It was Ladybug the one I wanted to take down, the fact that they happened to be the same person, well… it sure surprised me, but it was like killing two birds with one stone,” she bit her lower lip as she watched him. Adrien was mad and she was enjoying every second of it. 

“It’s over now, with Ladybug out of the picture, the rest of you are nothing, you know it,” she continued. “You should just give up and join me, it’s not like your precious Marinette knows who you are,” she cackled and Adrien clenched his fists.

“Shut up, that’s never going to happen!” The angrier he got, the more she seemed to take pleasure in the situation, and that was even more infuriating.

“Oh come on, Adrien~ I’m giving you the chance to switch sides before I actually figure out where she hid that little box and become the guardian myself. When that happens, you’re going to have to answer to me, you know?” 

“You’re delusional already, I think lying and creating that many illusions is starting to affect you,” he smirked at her and it was her turn to glare. 

“Say what you want, you know you can’t win,” she was frowning as she looked at the scenery around them. She had the idiots of the citizens and the media on her side, all she had to do was plant more seeds of doubt about the ridiculous Miraculous team led by Ladybug.

“We will see,” Adrien said and it sounded like a threat, then left without letting her give him an answer.

She simply glared into the distance.

~.*~.*~

“Pollen, buzz off,” Alya called off the transformation as she landed on the balcony of the apartment she shared with Nino. She was holding the miracle box with one of her hands, so she caught the kwami with her free hand and pet her gently. “Let’s feed you now,” she said as she walked inside.

“Thank you, my queen,” Pollen replied, and Alya laughed. 

“I told you I’m not a queen,” she rolled her eyes as Pollen nuzzled against her fingers.

“I respectfully disagree,” another voice replied, and both of them turned to look at Nino who was sitting on the couch with Wayzz. “You are indeed a queen, you know?” He said as he stood up and walked towards her, making Alya laugh once again.

“Smooth,” she said, and Nino just smiled at her. Pollen went to join Wayzz, picking up a cookie to regain energy. Their holders looked at them for a moment before their attention returned to the box in Alya’s hands. Nino placed his hands over hers.

“Everything okay?” he asked, and Alya just nodded.

“I guess, I mean the box is safe,” she was looking at it as she spoke. “Marinette…?”

“With her parents, she’s fine,” he reassured her, and Alya gave him a small smile then. “How about Adrien?” He asked as he led her to the couch so they could sit together, Alya never letting go of the box.

“He’s… well, he’s doing the best he can right now,” she said after they sat down. “We’ll get through this, right?” She mumbled as her hand scanned the surface of the box, not daring to open it.

“Right,” Nino confirmed, and Alya leaned against him, remaining quiet. “We always do.”

~.*~.*~

After leaving Lila behind, Adrien headed towards the Dupain-Cheng bakery, he knew Nino had brought Marinette there to be around her parents. After renouncing the guardianship of the miracle box, all her memories since she became Ladybug were gone, which meant all her memories about him were also erased from her mind.

Was he ready to face her? 

She had promised they would find each other again, and he knew they would, they were meant to be after all! But the truth was that right now he was still madly in love with her and she didn’t even know he existed.

“Tikki, spots off,” he said, and caught a very exhausted Tikki in the palm of his hand. He then offered some camembert. “Sorry, it’s the only thing I got,” he added and Tikki gave him a small smile. 

“It’s okay,” she ate it without complaining. 

Earlier that day, Marinette had been Ladybug and Adrien, Chat Noir, but when Marinette made the decision to transfer the guardianship, she also entrusted Adrien with her own miraculous, to have the ability to repair any damage Lila could make. So they swapped their miraculous, even if Marinette wasn’t going to know the ring in her hand was one after her memories disappeared. Plagg promised Adrien he was going to look after Marinette, so both Adrien and Tikki were relieved to know Marinette wasn’t going to be completely alone, even if Plagg was going to avoid being seen by her.

“Feeling better?” Adrien asked after Tikki finished eating the piece of cheese, and she nodded, floating up closer to his face and nuzzling against his cheek, making him smile. “We’re going to the bakery now, I’ll get you something sweet.”

“Thank you! How are you though, Adrien?” There was concern in her voice, Adrien could tell. Was he that obvious? 

“I’ve been better,” he admitted. “I’m going to miss her.”

“Me too,” Tikki understood him better than anyone else. “Marinette is the best Ladybug I’ve ever had, but I don’t think our time together has ended.”

Adrien smiled at that, feeling a spark of hope being ignited inside. If the god of creation thought so, who was he to disagree?

“You’re right,” he simply said. “Ready to go see her?” After getting another nod from Tikki, he started to walk to the bakery, Tikki hiding inside his shirt. 

How exactly was he supposed to introduce himself to her though? ‘ _Hello, I’m Adrien. By the way, we live together and you’re the love of my life! I wanted to propose on our next anniversary but I guess that’s off the table now!_ ’, he shook that thought off of his mind, amused by how ridiculous it sounded. ‘ _You’re going to scare her, one step at a time_ ’, he mused as he rehearsed the things he wanted to tell her, but his mind went blank after he spotted her through the windows of the bakery.

There she was, enjoying herself as she grabbed some pastries. Was she singing along to something? He smiled, just relieved to see she was safe.

Adrien was about to enter the bakery when Marinette did the most Marinette thing she could do, and tripped over nothing. He acted fast and without thinking, he hurried over and caught her in his arms like he’d done many times before. Like the very first time they met, when she literally fell from the sky right into him.

It seemed like she was destined to fall into his embrace.

He held her in place and then helped her up, staring at her with all the love he had for her shining through his eyes. She stuttered and mixed up her words, and he couldn’t help but smile warmly at her. This woman truly owned his whole heart, and when she asked if they already knew each other, he realized that he could indeed face her and this situation they were put through. They were going to find each other over and over, no matter what obstacles came in their way.

“Let me reintroduce myself,” he began. “I’m Adrien, it’s a pleasure to meet you again, Marinette.”

“T-the pleasure is yours, I mean-! Mine! It’s a pleasure of mine- meeting you, of course! You already met me ahaha… And now I met you...!” she rambled on, her cheeks tinted pink. He hadn’t seen this extremely flustered and shy side of his lady in years, so he just smiled fondly. He wanted to kiss her forehead and tell her how much he loved her, but he didn’t, obviously.

“Adrien!” Tom grinned and went closer to greet him, “Sabine, look who’s here!” He called out, and Sabine soon joined them. He greeted them back, but his eyes remained on the very curious woman next to them, who was probably wondering what exactly their relationship was before she lost her memories, since he seemed to be all familiar with her parents.

“Group hug, group hug!” Alya exclaimed as she walked into the bakery followed by Nino. Tom quickly pulled the two of them closer, grinning. 

“All your closer friends are here now, Marinette,” Sabine explained, and Marinette turned her attention to the new people, recognizing them.

“Nino? Alya?” Both of them were her classmates back in time, that much she remembered. In fact, Alya was the new girl and they had connected very quickly, so she was glad to know they became best friends over the years.

“Yup!” Alya confirmed, smiling at Marinette. “We’ve heard you were involved in some magical accident, so we decided to come over and help,” she said, and the guys nodded in agreement.

Marinette’s gaze fell back onto Adrien. He was the only one she didn’t remember he even existed, that definitely hurt him a bit, but that didn’t matter now. He smiled at her, and her cheeks reddened once again, so she looked at Alya and Nino instead.

“Why don’t you kids go upstairs and talk?” Sabine prompted, offering a tray with croissants. “I’m sure there’s a lot you want to tell her about,” she added, handing said tray to Adrien and giving him a knowing look for a mere second.

“Sure,” Marinette said, eager to learn more about the missing pieces of her life. “Let’s get going then.”

As the four of them left the bakery, Tom and Sabine exchanged glances.

“She’ll be okay, dear,” Sabine said as she stroked her husband’s arm affectionately, trying to reassure him. “She’s strong, she’s always been.”

“I know, she wouldn’t be Ladybug if she wasn’t, would she?” Tom sighed, “I will always worry about her though.”

“And so will I.” Sabine agreed, then both of them went back to work.

~.*~.*~

Adrien watched Marinette giggle as Alya told her the story of how she and Nino got together, about how Marinette was actually the one on a date with Nino and both she and Adrien were listening in and helping. They had been telling her funny stories about their school years, always avoiding the subject of his father and akumatization so far, and that was okay for today. 

“So you two ended up locked up together for hours?” Marinette asked with amusement in her voice as Nino nodded in response.

“Made me realize how amazing Alya was, totally worth it.” He said, and Marinette sighed happily.

“You guys are so cute,” she cooed. “I’m glad the four of us became close friends, it looks like we had a lot of fun together,” she continued, smiling. Even if her memories weren’t there, the affection she felt from the three of them was real.

“Actually,” Adrien said, looking at Alya and Nino for a moment before looking back at Marinette. “I wanted to tell you that the two of us are not really close friends,” he explained with a poor choice of words.

He could immediately see the disappointment in Marinette’s eyes. Alya pinched the bridge of her nose while Nino just bumped Adrien’s arm gently, as if trying to tell him to elaborate.

“Oh…” Marinette’s eyes fell to her lap, she seemed to be struggling with something inside, but he couldn’t tell exactly what was going through her head.

“No- I mean! Yes, we are close friends, we’re best friends Marinette,” he assured her and when he caught her gaze once again he smiled gently. “I meant to say we are more than that.” 

Marinette’s eyes widened as she understood what he meant, her face turning bright red. Was his face suddenly warm, too? They stared at each other quietly, neither of them breaking the silence.

“And to think we were over how ridiculous these two were,” Alya snorted, and Nino laughed in response. Adrien smiled sheepishly at them as he rubbed the back of his neck, then realized Marinette’s eyes were still on him, as red and flustered as she was.

“C-can you tell me about us?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
